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Algorithm aversion is an important and persistent issue that prevents harvesting the benefits of advancements in artificial intelligence. The literature thus far has provided explanations that primarily focus on conscious reflective processes. Here, we supplement this view by taking an unconscious perspective that can be highly informative. Building on theories of implicit prejudice, in a preregistered study, we suggest that people develop an implicit bias (i.e., prejudice) against artificial intelligence (AI) systems, as a different and threatening "species," the behavior of which is unknown. Like in other contexts of prejudice, we expected people to be guided by this implicit bias but try to override it. This leads to some willingness to rely on algorithmic advice (appreciation), which is reduced as a function of people's implicit prejudice against the machine. Next, building on the somatic marker hypothesis and the accessibility-diagnosticity perspective, we provide an explanation as to why aversion is ephemeral. As people learn about the performance of an algorithm, they depend less on primal implicit biases when deciding whether to rely on the AI's advice. Two studies (n1 = 675, n2 = 317) that use the implicit association test consistently support this view. Two additional studies (n3 = 255, n4 = 332) rule out alternative explanations and provide stronger support for our assertions. The findings ultimately suggest that moving the needle between aversion and appreciation depends initially on one's general unconscious bias against AI because there is insufficient information to override it. They further suggest that in later use stages, this shift depends on accessibility to diagnostic information about the AI's performance, which reduces the weight given to unconscious prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic marker hypothesis states that emotional recall and its somatic influence guide long-term decision-making. However, the mechanism through which decision-making benefits from emotional recall is unclear; whether emotional recall and the induced affect increase the regulatory demand or amplify the affect state that requires inhibition. It is unclear if controlling the automatic flow of emotion in recall improves adaptive decision-making. Two studies examine the hypothesis that affect control in emotional recall facilitates inhibitory control and benefits long-term decision-making. In Experiment 1 (n = 137), affect control was assessed in emotional recall to examine if switching of affect in recall of positive and negative valence (order: positive-negative memory recall vs. negative-positive memory recall) is linked with long-term decision-making. Results for long-term decision-making showed that negative-positive recall sequence was associated with higher long-term decision-making, whereas automatic frequency-based decision-making remained unaffected by the recall sequence. In experiment 2 (n = 71, all male), emotional recall (positive vs. negative), recall specificity (i.e., specific vs. overgeneralized recall), and post-recallmood regulation (post-recall positivemood regulation vs. no regulation) was expected to facilitate long-term decision-making. Results showed that emotional recall and post-recall mood regulation (i.e., negative recall - positive mood and positive recall - negative mood) were associated with higher long-term decision-making (decks C' and D'). Results of frequency decision-making showed that positive emotional recall, and poor recall specificity led to infrequent punishment deck choices (decks B' and D'). Hierarchical regression indicated that emotional recall increased infrequent deck choices and accounted for 10% of choices made, recall specificity increased the explanatory power to 19%, and higher recall specificity was associated with fewer infrequent punishment deck choices. Affect control engaged via negative emotional recall, post-recall mood regulation, and recall specificity might be a potential mechanism through which affect control in emotional recall might facilitate long-term decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is noteworthy that individuals mostly make intuitive and quick choices in complex situations. It is also well established that affective processes play an essential role in decision-making under uncertainty and risk. The recent literature has focused on the contribution of emotional intelligence domains to individuals' effective decision-making skills. The current review study aimed to draw attention to neuropsychological studies investigating a possible link between emotional intelligence and decision-making performance in clinical and nonclinical samples. In addition, decision-making and emotional intelligence were discussed within the framework of the somatic marker hypothesis and dualprocess theory. This review also explored the brain regions associated with decision-making and emotional intelligence, as well as the impact of emotional intelligence training programs on decision-making performance. In line with the literature, it can be concluded that an individual's ability to make effective decisions can be enhanced through increasing emotional intelligence skill training program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic marker hypothesis states that emotional recall and its somatic influence guide long-term decision-making. However, the mechanism through which decision-making benefits from emotional recall is unclear; whether emotional recall and the induced affect increase the regulatory demand or amplify the affect state that requires inhibition. It is unclear if controlling the automatic flow of emotion in recall improves adaptive decision-making. Two studies examine the hypothesis that affect control in emotional recall facilitates inhibitory control and benefits long-term decision-making. In Experiment 1 (n = 137), affect control was assessed in emotional recall to examine if switching of affect in recall of positive and negative valence (order: positive–negative memory recall vs. negative–positive memory recall) is linked with long-term decision-making. Results for long-term decision-making showed that negative–positive recall sequence was associated with higher long-term decision-making, whereas automatic frequency-based decision-making remained unaffected by the recall sequence. In experiment 2 (n = 71, all male), emotional recall (positive vs. negative), recall specificity (i.e., specific vs. overgeneralized recall), and post-recall mood regulation (post-recall positive mood regulation vs. no regulation) was expected to facilitate long-term decision-making. Results showed that emotional recall and post-recall mood regulation (i.e., negative recall – positive mood and positive recall - negative mood) were associated with higher long-term decision-making (decks C′ and D′). Results of frequency decision-making showed that positive emotional recall, and poor recall specificity led to infrequent punishment deck choices (decks B′ and D′). Hierarchical regression indicated that emotional recall increased infrequent deck choices and accounted for 10% of choices made, recall specificity increased the explanatory power to 19%, and higher recall specificity was associated with fewer infrequent punishment deck choices. Affect control engaged via negative emotional recall, post-recall mood regulation, and recall specificity might be a potential mechanism through which affect control in emotional recall might facilitate long-term decision-making.

Background: The study aims to compare the decision-making processes of individuals with and without the Covid-19 vaccine under uncertainty. Material/ Methods: The study included 70 participants vaccinated against Covid-19 and 70 not-vaccinated against Covid-19, matched by age, gender, and education level. Sociodemographic Data Form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Barratt Impulsivity Scale Short Form (BIS-11-SF), The Scale of Vaccine Hesitancy (SVH), and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) were administered to the participants. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups regarding SVH sub-dimensions and the total score (p<0.001). A statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in the IGT-5 subdimension (p <0.05). Although there was no statistically significant difference in IGT-total and other sub-dimensions, it was recognized that not-vaccinated participants made more choices for risky decks. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between IGT-5 and the benefit and protective value of the vaccine, solutions for non-vaccination, and SVH-total score. Besides, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the IGT-Total score and the sub-dimension of solutions for non-vaccination. Conclusions: The non-vaccinated group made more choices from the disadvantageous and risky decks in the long run during the decision-making task under uncertainty; they were prone to take more risks. That is why the impact of implicit and emotional processes should be considered in the risk assessment against vaccine hesitancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision-making behaviors of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a subject that has been studied frequently. However, determining the neuropsychological profiles of patients with different types of epilepsy is also important. Our main purpose was to examine the decision-making behaviors of patients with posterior cortex epilepsy (PCE) through the assumptions of somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) and to compare their performances with those of a MTLE group and a control group. Participants comprised of 13 patients with PCE (mean age 30.92 ± 9.99 years); 14 patients with MTLE with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) (mean age 25.53 ± 7.40 years) and 15 controls (mean age 24.60 ± 8.45 years). Decision-making performances were assessed with the Iowa gambling test (IGT) and anticipatory skin responses before each choice were recorded. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was also given to all participants in order to examine the relationship of decision-making with other cognitive functions. Anticipatory responses before choosing from disadvantageous decks were significantly larger than choosing from advantageous decks in the PCE group (p = 0.00). No significant difference was found between the PCE and control group's total net scores. IGT total net scores was significantly correlated with Stroop test interference time (p = 0.03). The study reveals that cognitive impairments of patients with PCE are not limited to brain's posterior areas' functions, and provides evidence for the current paradigm which understands epilepsy as a network disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews recent literature on interoception directing decision-making in Alzheimer's disease (AD). According to the somatic marker hypothesis, signals from the internal body direct decision-making and involve the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). After reviewing relevant studies, we summarize the brain areas related to interoception and decision-making (e.g., vmPFC, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex) and their roles in and relationships with AD pathology. Moreover, we outline the relationship among interoception, the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and AD pathology. We discuss that impaired interoception leads to decreased decision-making ability in people with AD from the perspective of brain neural underpinning. Additionally, we emphasize that anosognosia or reduced self-awareness and metacognition in AD are remarkably congruent with the malfunction of the autonomic nervous system regulating the interoceptive network. Furthermore, we propose that impaired interoception may contribute to a loss in the decision-making ability of patients with AD. However, there still exist empirical challenges in confirming this proposal. First, there has been no standardization for measuring or improving interoception to enhance decision-making ability in patients with AD. Future studies are required to better understand how AD pathology induces impairments in interoception and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although impulsivity is associated with an increased willingness to make risky decisions, uncertainty intolerance may also contribute to maladaptive decision-making behavior, where individuals neglect to pursue potential rewards even when probabilities for success are in their favor. Several theories have sought to explain the neural systems that guide decision-making in this context, with evidence supporting a role for increased sympathetic activation. However, it remains unclear whether the sympathetic system is associated with greater apprehension in response to uncertain outcomes, or whether it serves to guide behavioral decisions in the context of this uncertainty. Furthermore, although postulated as a within-person process, most research has examined the association between decision behavior and sympathetic activation at the between-person level. We hypothesize that in the context of uncertainty between-person differences in skin conductance will be associated with longer deliberation times; whereas within-person trial-level increases in skin conductance will be associated with a tendency to reject uncertain options. Data were collected from n = 56 children aged 7–11 years, using a computerized card game in which children chose to accept or reject cards of varying point value at varying levels of probability. Skin conductance level (SCL) was recorded throughout the task. No significant between-person associations emerged. However, within-person analyses indicated that momentary deliberation time moderated the association between momentary skin-conductance and decision outcome. This moderation was such that for trials during which the individual deliberated longer (i.e., was more indecisive), a concurrent increase in skin conductance was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of rejecting the card. The within-person nature of these results suggests that skin conductance may help in resolving indecision in the context of uncertainty. • Skin conductance guides decision-making only in the context of indecision. • Higher skin conductance is associated with risk avoidance. • This process functions at the trial-level within individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risky decisions involve cognitive and emotional factors. Asthe primary test for the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH),the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) examines these factors. Skinconductance shows anticipatory physiological responses onthe IGT supporting SMH. Pupil dilation offers an alternativephysiological marker. Predictive effects of anticipatorypupillary responses to positive and negative decks on IGTperformance were examined in an extended IGT. Theextended Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) examined therelationship between reflective thinking and IGTperformance. Data demonstrated correlations betweenreflective thinking and performance from the second blockonwards and that task learning continued into the additionalblocks - performance was not optimized even in the finalblock. Regression analysis showed both anticipatory pupildilation for disadvantageous and advantageous decks, andreflective thinking were strong predictors of IGTperformance. While both emotional and reflective processesare implicated in IGT performance, analytic cognition is moreimportant than traditionally acknowledged.

SMH and IGT could plausibly link traditional behavioral decision theory to emerging neuroeconomic research, highlighting the interplay between emotion and rationality in decision-making under uncertainty. Keywords: Iowa Gambling Task; somatic marker hypothesis; neuroeconomics; rationality; emotion; decision-making; uncertainty EN Iowa Gambling Task somatic marker hypothesis neuroeconomics rationality emotion decision-making uncertainty 1 4 4 05/23/22 20220519 NES 220519 Two Anthologies on the Study of Decision-Making Under Uncertainty This anthology is the second in a series of I Frontiers in Psychology i Research Topics exploring how emotion and rationality interact in decision-making in an uncertain environment. However, subsequent findings have been inconsistent, with many IGT-related studies querying whether the IGT provides an adequate verification of SMH (Tomb et al., [18]; Maia and McClelland, [14], [15]; Lin et al., [13]; Chiu et al., [6], [5]). Iowa Gambling Task, somatic marker hypothesis, neuroeconomics, rationality, emotion, decision-making, uncertainty. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Since 2007, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has been a standardized clinical assessment tool for assessing decision behavior in 13 psychiatric/neurological conditions. After the publication of Maia and McClelland's (1) article, there were two responses in 2005 from Bechara et al. and Maia and McClelland, respectively, discussing whether implicit emotion or explicit knowledge influences the development of foresighted decision strategies under uncertain circumstances (e.g., as simulated in the IGT). Methods and Results: We reanalyze and verify the data obtained by Maia and McClelland (1) in their study "What participants really know in the Iowa Gambling Task" and find that decision-makers were lured into shortsighted decisions by the prospect of immediate gains and losses. Conclusion: Although the findings of this reanalysis cannot support any arguments concerning the effect of either implicit emotion or explicit knowledge, we find evidence that, based on the gain–loss frequency in the IGT, participants behave myopically. This is consistent with most IGT-related articles (58 out of 86) in Lee et al.'s (2) cross-cultural review. Alternatively, under uncertain circumstances, there is probably no such thing as foresighted decision strategy irrespective of the proposed mechanisms of implicit emotion or explicit knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On Religious Emotions and Their Theological Value: How to Understand the Positive Significance of Christian Affections for Doctrine and Practice? The purpose of this article is to give a constructive proposal of how to understand the role of Christian affections for theological reflection and work with systematic theology. The last decades have seen an increased interest within different academic disciplines, including theology, in the topic of emotions, feelings and affections, and their significance for human rationality. In a Norwegian theological context, the question of the significance of Christian affections is accentuated by the 250th anniversary of the revivalist and social reformer Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824). Within Pentecostal theology, a consensus has emerged that Christian affections are necessary for right doctrine and right practice to be sustained coherently. However, more work to spell out their relationship in detail is needed. In the first part of the article, I will present a theological understanding of Christian affections, based on the work of Steven Land and Simeon Zahl, exemplified and illuminated by the historical testimonies of Hans Nielsen Hauge and the Thomas Ball Barratt. In the second part, I will give my constructive proposal where I employ «the somatic marker hypothesis» of Antonio Damasio to explain how Christian affections and their positive significance for theological reflection can be understood, in that the bodily conditioned emotional markings of mental images function more properly, which enables the theologian to make more rational choices in her theological work.

The purpose of this article is to give a constructive proposal of how to understand the role of Christian affections for theological reflection and work with systematic theology. The last decades have seen an increased interest within different academic disciplines, including theology, in the topic of emotions, feelings and affections, and their significance for human rationality. In a Norwegian theological context, the question of the significance of Christian affections is accentuated by the 250th anniversary of the revivalist and social reformer Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824). Within Pentecostal theology, a consensus has emerged that Christian affections are necessary for right doctrine and right practice to be sustained coherently. However, more work to spell out their relationship in detail is needed. In the first part of the article, I will present a theological understanding of Christian affections, based on the work of Steven Land and Simeon Zahl, exemplified and illuminated by the historical testimonies of Hans Nielsen Hauge and the Thomas Ball Barratt. In the second part, I will give my constructive proposal where I employ «the somatic marker hypothesis» of Antonio Damasio to explain how Christian affections and their positive significance for theological reflection can be understood, in that the bodily conditioned emotional markings of mental images function more properly, which enables the theologian to make more rational choices in her theological work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is an early and frequent symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Likewise, affective symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety) and alterations in the processing of emotional stimuli have been frequently reported. Thus, abilities that integrate affective and cognitive processes such as decision making (DM) based on affective feedback are potentially valuable early diagnostic markers for MS. The available research on this topic, however, is still inconclusive and suffers from methodological issues.Methods: We compared DM ability in a clinically homogeneous cohort of 24 patients with early relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) and 59 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). A modified version of the Iowa gambling task (IGT) allowed us to control for individual differences in search strategies during the risk exploration phase. Besides standard IGT measures (netscore, obtained play money, and learning index), we also examined reaction times and post-error slowing (PES) patterns as a proxy for abnormalities in the processing of affective feedback.Results: The performance of patients did not significantly deviate from HCs in any standard parameter of the modified IGT. Furthermore, although RRMS patients reacted significantly slower than HCs overall, we found similar patterns of PES in both groups, suggesting similarly efficient processing of affective feedback.Conclusion: We conclude that there is no specific deficit in affective feedback processing in early RRMS. Previous findings of IGT impairments in this patient group may thus not represent a genuine deficit in affective DM but rather be related to sample characteristics, general CI, and/or differences in individual search strategies. Future research should explore the potential influence of lesion volumes and locations on DM ability by employing brain imaging techniques.

The somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) has been utilized to demonstrate the role of emotion and somatic state in decision-making under uncertainty over the past two decades. Despite some debate, the SMH has provided not only a neurobiological framework for understanding emotion and decision-making but also a good empirical support for ecological rationality and embodied emotion. Unlike the traditional maximizing rationality and bounded satisficing rationality, the ecological rationality stresses that emotions should be brought to the decision-making process. The embodied emotion furthermore emphasizes that emotions are embodied in the body and the brain. On the other hand, behavioral decision-making has spawned many new interdisciplines, including neuroeconomics. In this case, the SMH could act as a bridge to translate the ecological rationality and the embodied emotion into emerging neuroeconomics. Thus, this mini-review article aims to propose an integrated framework for introducing ecological rationality and embodied emotion into the field of neuroeconomics by virtue of insights from the SMH.

Twenty-three years ago, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) proposed by Damasio was introduced to explain the role of emotion in decision-making, and provided a unique neuroanatomical framework for decision-making and its influence by emotion. The core idea of the SMH is that decision-making is a process that is affected by somatic state signals, including those that express themselves in emotion and feeling. In order to verify the SMH, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was originally designed by Bechara et al. and the skin conductance responses (SCRs) was recorded during the IGT. The initial confirmatory results showed that normal subjects would generate anticipatory SCRs when they received reward or punishment, but patients of the VMPFC lesion entirely failed to generate anticipatory SCRs prior to their selection of a card. With the further development of the SMH–related researches, other electrophysiological methods of measuring somatic state was gradually used to test the SMH, including event-related potentials (ERPs), and heart rate (HR). In this mini review article, we summarize the extant electrophysiological research on the SMH and decision-making under ambiguity, propose an integrative perspective for employing different electrophysiological measurement methods, and indicate the application of electrophysiological measurement based on the SMH in daily social decision-making.

The affordance competition hypothesis is an ethologically inspired theory from cognitive neuroscience that provides an integrative neural account of continuous, real-time behavior, and will likely become increasingly relevant to the growing field of neuroergonomics. In the spirit of neuroergonomics in aviation, we designed a three-dimensional, first-person, continuous, and real-time fMRI task during which human subjects maneuvered a simulated airplane in pursuit of a target airplane along constantly changing headings. We introduce a pseudo-event-related, parametric fMRI analysis approach to begin testing the affordance competition hypothesis in neuroergonomic contexts, and attempt to identify regions of the brain that exhibit a linear metabolic relationship with the continuous variables of task performance and distance-from-target. In line with the affordance competition hypothesis, our results implicate the cooperation of the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and cortex in such a task, with greater involvement of the basal ganglia during good performance, and greater involvement of cortex and cerebellum during poor performance and when distance-from-target closes. We briefly review the somatic marker and dysmetria of thought hypotheses, in addition to the affordance competition hypothesis, to speculate on the intricacies of the cooperation of these brain regions in a task such as ours. In doing so, we demonstrate how the affordance competition hypothesis and other cognitive neuroscience theories are ready for testing in continuous, real-time tasks such as ours, and in other neuroergonomic settings more generally.

Background: Cognitive impairment (CI) is an early and frequent symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Likewise, affective symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety) and alterations in the processing of emotional stimuli have been frequently reported. Thus, abilities that integrate affective and cognitive processes such as decision making (DM) based on affective feedback are potentially valuable early diagnostic markers for MS. The available research on this topic, however, is still inconclusive and suffers from methodological issues. Methods: We compared DM ability in a clinically homogeneous cohort of 24 patients with early relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) and 59 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). A modified version of the Iowa gambling task (IGT) allowed us to control for individual differences in search strategies during the risk exploration phase. Besides standard IGT measures (netscore, obtained play money, and learning index), we also examined reaction times and post-error slowing (PES) patterns as a proxy for abnormalities in the processing of affective feedback. Results: The performance of patients did not significantly deviate from HCs in any standard parameter of the modified IGT. Furthermore, although RRMS patients reacted significantly slower than HCs overall, we found similar patterns of PES in both groups, suggesting similarly efficient processing of affective feedback. Conclusion: We conclude that there is no specific deficit in affective feedback processing in early RRMS. Previous findings of IGT impairments in this patient group may thus not represent a genuine deficit in affective DM but rather be related to sample characteristics, general CI, and/or differences in individual search strategies. Future research should explore the potential influence of lesion volumes and locations on DM ability by employing brain imaging techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) has been utilized to demonstrate the role of emotion and somatic state in decision-making under uncertainty over the past two decades. Despite some debate, the SMH has provided not only a neurobiological framework for understanding emotion and decision-making but also a good empirical support for ecological rationality and embodied emotion. Unlike the traditional maximizing rationality and bounded satisficing rationality, the ecological rationality stresses that emotions should be brought to the decision-making process. The embodied emotion furthermore emphasizes that emotions are embodied in the body and the brain. On the other hand, behavioral decision-making has spawned many new interdisciplines, including neuroeconomics. In this case, the SMH could act as a bridge to translate the ecological rationality and the embodied emotion into emerging neuroeconomics. Thus, this mini-review article aims to propose an integrated framework for introducing ecological rationality and embodied emotion into the field of neuroeconomics by virtue of insights from the SMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-three years ago, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) proposed by Damasio was introduced to explain the role of emotion in decision-making, and provided a unique neuroanatomical framework for decision-making and its influence by emotion. The core idea of the SMH is that decision-making is a process that is affected by somatic state signals, including those that express themselves in emotion and feeling. In order to verify the SMH, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was originally designed by Bechara et al. and the skin conductance responses (SCRs) was recorded during the IGT. The initial confirmatory results showed that normal subjects would generate anticipatory SCRs when they received reward or punishment, but patients of the VMPFC lesion entirely failed to generate anticipatory SCRs prior to their selection of a card. With the further development of the SMH–related researches, other electrophysiological methods of measuring somatic state was gradually used to test the SMH, including event-related potentials (ERPs), and heart rate (HR). In this mini review article, we summarize the extant electrophysiological research on the SMH and decision-making under ambiguity, propose an integrative perspective for employing different electrophysiological measurement methods, and indicate the application of electrophysiological measurement based on the SMH in daily social decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The affordance competition hypothesis is an ethologically inspired theory from cognitive neuroscience that provides an integrative neural account of continuous, real-time behavior, and will likely become increasingly relevant to the growing field of neuroergonomics. In the spirit of neuroergonomics in aviation, we designed a three-dimensional, first-person, continuous, and real-time fMRI task during which human subjects maneuvered a simulated airplane in pursuit of a target airplane along constantly changing headings. We introduce a pseudo-event-related, parametric fMRI analysis approach to begin testing the affordance competition hypothesis in neuroergonomic contexts, and attempt to identify regions of the brain that exhibit a linear metabolic relationship with the continuous variables of task performance and distance-from-target. In line with the affordance competition hypothesis, our results implicate the cooperation of the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and cortex in such a task, with greater involvement of the basal ganglia during good performance, and greater involvement of cortex and cerebellum during poor performance and when distance-from-target closes. We briefly review the somatic marker and dysmetria of thought hypotheses, in addition to the affordance competition hypothesis, to speculate on the intricacies of the cooperation of these brain regions in a task such as ours. In doing so, we demonstrate how the affordance competition hypothesis and other cognitive neuroscience theories are ready for testing in continuous, real-time tasks such as ours, and in other neuroergonomic settings more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly anxious individuals often show excessive emotional arousal, somatic arousal, and characteristics of mental illness. Previous researches have extensively investigated the emotional and cognitive biases of individuals with high anxiety, but overlooked the spontaneous brain activity and functional connections associated with somatic arousal. In this study, we investigated the relationship between state anxiety and the spontaneous brain activity of the somatosensory cortex in a non-clinical healthy population with state anxiety. Furthermore, we also explored the functional connections of the somatosensory cortex. We found that state anxiety was positively correlated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) of somatic related brain regions, including the right postcentral gyrus (somatosensory cortex) and the right precentral gyrus (somatic motor cortex). Furthermore, we found that state anxiety was positively correlated with the connections between the postcentral gyrus and the left cerebellum gyrus, whereas state anxiety was negatively correlated with the connectivity between the postcentral gyrus and brain regions including the left inferior frontal cortex and left medial superior frontal cortex. These results revealed the association between the anxious individuals’ body-loop and state anxiety in a healthy population, which revealed the importance of somatic brain regions in anxiety symptoms and provided a new perspective on anxiety for further study.

According to the somatic marker hypothesis, autonomic measures and arousal modulation can reveal a difference in subgroups of patients developing impaired decision‐making because of addictions. Previously, pathological gambling (PG) and Parkinson's disease (PD) have been associated with differential arousal levels during gambling behavior. However, no research considered the specific autonomic responses of Parkinson's disease patients with pathological gambling and with a previous history of gambling. Thus, this study investigated skin conductance responses (SCRs), skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) during the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in two groups of PD patients with gambling disorder, active (PD Gamblers; n = 14) or remitted (PD Non‐Gamblers; n = 13) and a control group of patients with Parkinson's disease only (n = 13). Anticipatory autonomic responses to disadvantageous decks and advantageous decks during the Iowa Gambling Task were measured for each participant. The PD Gamblers group performed worse than the PD Non‐Gamblers and the control groups at the IGT task and exhibited lower SCRs, SCL, and HR during the decision‐making processing of cards belonging to disadvantageous decks. The role of autonomic and behavioral measures was considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly anxious individuals often show excessive emotional arousal, somatic arousal, and characteristics of mental illness. Previous researches have extensively investigated the emotional and cognitive biases of individuals with high anxiety, but overlooked the spontaneous brain activity and functional connections associated with somatic arousal. In this study, we investigated the relationship between state anxiety and the spontaneous brain activity of the somatosensory cortex in a non-clinical healthy population with state anxiety. Furthermore, we also explored the functional connections of the somatosensory cortex. We found that state anxiety was positively correlated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) of somatic related brain regions, including the right postcentral gyrus (somatosensory cortex) and the right precentral gyrus (somatic motor cortex). Furthermore, we found that state anxiety was positively correlated with the connections between the postcentral gyrus and the left cerebellum gyrus, whereas state anxiety was negatively correlated with the connectivity between the postcentral gyrus and brain regions including the left inferior frontal cortex and left medial superior frontal cortex. These results revealed the association between the anxious individuals' body-loop and state anxiety in a healthy population, which revealed the importance of somatic brain regions in anxiety symptoms and provided a new perspective on anxiety for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) has been one of the most influential theories in the neurosciences since the early 1990s, when it was formulated by Antonio Damasio in his book Descartes' Error (1994). Since then, various studies, for and against, have been written without a verdict. Firstly, this study provides a comprehensive explanation of the SMH. Secondly, it provides a detailed assessment of the relevance of the amygdala in the process of making unconscious decisions. In contrast, we cite some results that suggest that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex would be involved in our rational decisions. Finally, we review some of the criticism of the SMH that was based on the mixed results obtained in the Iowa Gambling Task. We suggest that the main value of the SMH is that it resolves the brain-body duality problem. However, the hypothesis by itself is insufficient to claim that the decision-making process is mainly based on our feelings. Although the decision-making process uses unconscious somatosensory responses, it is a more complex physical-emotional-rational process, which still lacks sufficient evidence to be located. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In moral dilemma tasks, high levels of psychopathic traits often predict increased utilitarian responding—specifically, endorsing sacrificing one person to save many. Research suggests that increased arousal (i.e., somatic marker production) underlies lower rates of utilitarian responding during moral dilemmas. Though deficient somatic marker production is characteristic of psychopathy, how this deficit affects the psychopathy–utilitarian connection remains unknown. We assessed psychopathic traits in undergraduates, as well as behavioral performance and skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-R; a measure of somatic marker production) during a moral dilemma task. High psychopathic traits and low SCL-R were associated with increased utilitarian decisions in dilemmas involving direct personal harm. Psychopathic traits were unrelated to SCL-R, nor did SCL-R mediate the relationship between psychopathy and utilitarianism. The present study did not find evidence that somatic marker production explains the connection between utilitarianism and psychopathy in a college population. Further research is necessary to identify the neural mechanisms relating psychopathy and moral decision-making in nonclinical samples.

Stress pervades everyday life and impedes risky decision making. The following experiment is the first to examine effects of stress on risky decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), while measuring inspection time and conscious awareness of deck contingencies. This was original as it allowed a fine grained rigorous analysis of the way that stress impedes awareness of, and attention to maladaptive financial choices. The extended Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT) further afforded examination of the impact of impaired reflective thinking on risky decision making. Stressed participants were slower to avoid the disadvantageous decks and performed worse overall. They inspected disadvantageous decks for longer than the control condition and were slower in developing awareness of their poor deck quality compared to the control condition. Conversely, in the control condition greater inspection times for advantageous decks were observed earlier in the task, and better awareness of the deck contingencies was shown as early as the second block of trials than the stress condition. Path analysis suggested that stress reduced IGT performance by impeding reflective thinking and conscious awareness. Explicit cognitive processes, moreover, were important during the preliminary phase of IGT performance—a finding that has significant implications for the use of the IGT as a clinical diagnostic tool. It was concluded that stress impedes reflective thinking, attentional disengagement from poorer decks, and the development of conscious knowledge about choice quality that interferes with performance on the IGT. These data demonstrate that stress impairs risky decision making performance, by impeding attention to, and awareness of task characteristics in risky decision making.

Stress pervades everyday life and impedes risky decision making. The following experiment is the first to examine effects of stress on risky decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), while measuring inspection time and conscious awareness of deck contingencies. This was original as it allowed a fine grained rigorous analysis of the way that stress impedes awareness of, and attention to maladaptive financial choices. The extended Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT) further afforded examination of the impact of impaired reflective thinking on risky decision making. Stressed participants were slower to avoid the disadvantageous decks and performed worse overall. They inspected disadvantageous decks for longer than the control condition and were slower in developing awareness of their poor deck quality compared to the control condition. Conversely, in the control condition greater inspection times for advantageous decks were observed earlier in the task, and better awareness of the deck contingencies was shown as early as the second block of trials than the stress condition. Path analysis suggested that stress reduced IGT performance by impeding reflective thinking and conscious awareness. Explicit cognitive processes, moreover, were important during the preliminary phase of IGT performance—a finding that has significant implications for the use of the IGT as a clinical diagnostic tool. It was concluded that stress impedes reflective thinking, attentional disengagement from poorer decks, and the development of conscious knowledge about choice quality that interferes with performance on the IGT. These data demonstrate that stress impairs risky decision making performance, by impeding attention to, and awareness of task characteristics in risky decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The sexual decision-making literature suggests that sexual arousal and behavior are associated. The somatic marker hypothesis suggests that individual neuropsychological differences in decision making, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), may moderate these associations; however, this hypothesis has yet to be tested with event-level sexual behavior data.Purpose: We hypothesized that (a) daily sexual arousal would be positively associated with likelihood of engaging in sex and condomless anal sex (CAS) and (b) IGT scores would moderate these associations such that the associations would be stronger among those with higher IGT scores.Methods: We used daily diary data from 334 highly sexually active gay and bisexual men to examine the main and interaction effects of sexual arousal and IGT scores on sexual engagement and CAS.Results: As hypothesized, daily sexual arousal was positively associated with greater odds of both sexual engagement and CAS with casual male partners. Individual-level IGT performance significantly moderated the day-level association between arousal and sexual engagement, which was stronger for men with higher IGT scores. There was no main effect of IGT scores on either sexual behavior outcome, nor did it moderate the association between arousal and CAS.Conclusions: These findings highlight the influence of sexual arousal on sexual engagement, which differed by IGT scores; the effect of arousal on CAS was much less variable and may not be moderated by neurocognitive factors. This study supports the importance of exploring integrated behavioral/biomedical interventions to improve individual decision making to prevent HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of decision-making capacity in patients with acquired brain injury presents a range of clinical and legal challenges. The existing guidance on the conduct of such assessments is often generic; guidance specific to patients with brain injury is sparse and coarse grained. We report on the results of an interview-based study of decision-making capacity in patients suffering from acquired brain injury and organic personality disorder. We identify the clinical and legal challenges associated with the assessment of decision-making capacity in this patient population, review three bodies of relevant research from cognitive neuropsychology and neurophysiology, and draw on phenomenological analysis to identify three distinct abilities that play a role in decision making, but that can be compromised in patients with organic personality disorder. We address the challenge of translating clinical findings into legally attestable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a conceptual resource for rhetoric, contemporary neuroscience has considerable potential. Yet how exactly rhetoricians should deploy it as such requires careful consideration. While some engage neuroscience in a foundationalist fashion, using it to ground rhetoric in empirically tested claims, I make the case for a non-foundationalist approach, arguing that neuroscience can serve as a resource for rhetoric on the basis of epistemologies that value the speculative, indeterminate, and contingent. That is, we can use neuroscience to achieve perspective rather than proof and continued conversation rather than resolution. More specifically, I suggest placing neuroscience in incongruous contact with rhetoric, using it to achieve Burkean perspective by incongruity. I then do so in an extended example that puts Antonio Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis in incongruous contact with ancient accounts of eikos, thereby offering a fresh angle from which to view enduring discussions anew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we analyse one of the most fascinating paradoxes of mass politics. Based on the data from the studies of neurobiologists, neurologists, social psychology, cognitive and evolution studies we answer the question specified in literature as the Simon’s puzzle: How is it possible that citizens have their opinions about politics, if they know so little about it? We began our analysis from the criticism of the economic rationality approach. To do this, we referred to the Allais paradox, cognitive dissonance theory, Ellsberg paradox, the concept of bounded rationality, conjunction fallacy and prospect theory. Next, we described the evolutionary processes shaping the minds of Homo sapiens and characterised cognitive mechanisms, thanks to which people can make political choices, especially in view of the shortage of time and information. The following heuristics are referred to herein: affect, recognition, judgment and imitation.